Blood Love
by rain of silver stars
Summary: Serena, an unusually natural girl in a world of genetic perfection. Shunned by her peers she discovers she possesses an unusual ability--she can resist the seduction of any Vampire. Any save for Darien...
1. prologue

Blood Love  
  
Prologue  
  
Author: rain of silver stars  
  
E-mail: moonsilverstaryahoo.com  
  
Genre: romance/alt. reality  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: standard  
  
Though I reach for you in anger  
  
Touch you with dark, dark lust  
  
Though my soul is hungry for you  
  
It's your blood that I love  
  
I'm longing in this black night  
  
With fire in every nerve  
  
Possessed, desirous, inflamed  
  
A heart spoiled and aching  
  
It's your blood that I love  
  
I'm yearning for your soul's touch  
  
The beauty of your heart unbroken  
  
The warm joy in your eyes to hold me  
  
It can never be  
  
It can never be  
  
For though regret pierces the flesh of this body  
  
And I long to be alive for you  
  
I cannot change this body  
  
It's your blood that I love.  
  
song by Silent Moon  
  
October, 4000 AD. Night.  
  
"What's wrong with you?!" He cried as he pumped her lithe, pale body. The jeep  
  
rocked with his efforts. The silent forest for miles encompassing them.  
  
"Can't you get off?!"  
  
"I don't know!" She cried beneath him, tears squeezing out her faded blue eyes.  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
He looked at her tears with disgust, "Oh God, don't cry!"  
  
There was no sympathy in his voice.  
  
He pushed her legs back farther and kept on, harder and harder till he achieved  
  
his own release.  
  
She watched his rough face, the sweat on his forehead. The bruising grip on her  
  
legs, the unpleasant grunting of his orgasm. And thought, This is not beautiful...  
  
He pulled out and let her gather her still-wet body together and stare distantly out  
  
the window.  
  
"There's something wrong with you. You know that? Girls are supposed to get off  
  
from sex."  
  
"I know...." She said flatly, as though faraway.  
  
Her heart was crushed in her chest but she detached herself and imagined her soul faraway.  
  
With a loud gasp Serena Tsukino woke up. She sat straight up in bed and looked around  
  
wildly, catching her breath, trying to recollect what had frightened her so.  
  
That dream. That same dream.....  
  
She shook her head.  
  
That same memory....  
  
The sun was just coming up in the distance as she pulled herself out of bed and walked  
  
over to the window. She stared out at the bleak landscape and then focused on the  
  
drops of rain on the glass.  
  
Another day.  
  
She started suddenly as a cool gush of air wafted past her ear, causing her to turn suddenly  
  
trying to discern it's source.  
  
But there was nothing....  
  
Then it rushed by the other ear and she could have sworn it whispered her name,  
  
"Serena......" it echoed over and over and faded gradually away, making her shiver.  
  
She shook off the strange sensation and hurried to her shower to ready for the day.  
  
The water was cold but she didn't care. She let it wash over her skin until she was  
  
nearly numb and then stepped out, towled off, tucked her long, wheat-gold hair into a bun  
  
and dressed in her dull gray school uniform.  
  
She was a student at the top boarding academy for the gifted. The elite of the elite  
  
went here. And her parents were very rich. Rich enough to afford her genetic enhancement  
  
giving her an unmatchable edge in her studies. Rich enough to buy her ticket to this  
  
school at the other side of the world.  
  
Learning the new language had been effortless. Suffering through the odd sense of   
  
rejection had been hard. Her parents barely wrote or called. Apparently, their   
  
involvement in her life was over.  
  
The girls that attended this school were all rich, powerful, genetically enhanced to be  
  
smarter, more beautiful, perfect in every way.  
  
And they were. All of them.  
  
Only she, Serena, was flawed.  
  
She lacked the ruthless abandon of her classmates. Instead she had displayed a strange  
  
abundance of compassion for which her parents had sued their geneticist handsomely.  
  
She was however, very beautiful. Her hair was long and healthy and golden. Her skin was  
  
ivory and flawless. Her limbs long and slender, her face classic and elegant.  
  
Only her eyes marked her difference. They were not the lustrious, bright, over-shiny   
  
colour of her peers--though they had been programmed to be. They were instead, an icy  
  
blue, faded and barely detectable in strong lights.  
  
No one had been able to explain it.  
  
Serena had been a bright, sunny child. Affectionate and happy. Smiling and active.  
  
But her experience at school, interacting with others, had hardened her considerably.  
  
Now she was aloof and reclusive. Fairly mute and unsocial.  
  
When she had first arrived at the school, she had been welcomed into the girls social  
  
circles. They had gossiped with her and confided their petty rivalries, their stolen  
  
cigerettes and alcohal--strictly forbidden to the genetically enhanced. And their  
  
lurid affairs with the off-campus boys. The ones from the olympic school opposite  
  
the academy.  
  
Strong, muscled, over-testosteroned boys with an appetite for winning, violence, and  
  
screwing pretty little prep-school girls in the backs of their jeeps.  
  
Serena had battled the overwhelming sense of evil from her classmates. Managed to feign  
  
carelessness and ruthlessness with remarkable skill. Her original character pressed  
  
back like a shrinking violet. But sex with the off-campus boys had been the beginning of  
  
the end.  
  
Everyone found out. Everyone shunned her. Everyone suddenly knew her secret.  
  
So she kept to herself. Ignoring the jeers and hurts of the others. She travelled  
  
in the nights, through the tunnels. It was dangerous but she didn't care. She no longer  
  
carried a will to live.  
  
Although genetically enhanced, she lacked the things her classmates held easily. She   
  
failed to be as strong as they were. She was weak, flawed, unable to be satisfied.  
  
She was incomplete.  
  
Her faded blue eyes were a testimony to her failed body and mind.  
  
When she had been younger, and hope had been within her grasp. She had planned countless  
  
times to run away to the moon.  
  
On the moon, a group of rebel earth people had embezzled grant money and smuggled equipment   
  
to build a new civilization. She'd read up on it as much as possible. Hacking into  
  
unreachable computer files to find out everything she could.  
  
But she had never been able to reach them. These now-mystic moon people with a highly  
  
advanced technology that protected them from the earth's interference.   
  
Every night as a young teen she had stared wistfully up at the moon, praying they would  
  
come take her away.  
  
But her prayers were in vain.  
  
She had tried countless times to runaway and reach them, but she had failed.  
  
Hope was dead. So was she. This was only....existence.  
  
So she headed out into another day, taking the tunnels and emerging in the yard of the  
  
school for morning exercise. The other girls ignored her or glared as she stepped to the   
  
back and joined in.  
  
Then they separated for breakfast and she was once again alone.  
  
Students from the Olympic school filtered in and she quickly walked over to the trees  
  
in case he was there. He made things very hard for her when he saw her.  
  
The names he called her. She shivered.  
  
Suddenly a young man came crunching through the leaves towards her. He was pale, thin,  
  
with sharp dark eyes and curly light brown hair. She watched startled as he seemed to  
  
glide towards her. Suddenly he was right next to her, whispering in her ear, that same  
  
voice from the morning....  
  
"Serena....I can give you the one thing you want Serena.....the one thing you need."  
  
Then he stood facing her, staring into her eyes with hypnotic intent.  
  
"Come with me...." He murmured seductively, "I can give you what you want..."  
  
His voice had become a hiss. Her eyes narrowed, "Go away!"  
  
His eyes widened in shock then, "W-what?"  
  
She stepped away from him, and it was then she realized....he had no shadow.  
  
He was a.....a.....her eyes widened.  
  
He had been trying to seduce her.....to hypnotize her with his power.....and it hadn't  
  
worked.....  
  
"Go away!" She said again, half-panicked.  
  
He was gone in an instant. Less than an instant. And she was standing alone in the fallen  
  
leaves. Breathing hard.  
  
A vampire. A dark one.   
  
She'd forgotten this was their time to walk in the day--during the harvest moon of  
  
October....until the 31st.  
  
She shivered. And they loved seducing school-girls.  
  
The power of their hypnotism was supposed to be unbreakable. Anyone unfortunate enough  
  
to gaze into a vampires eyes was seduced, bitten, and either killed or converted.  
  
Though their lifestyle was far from terrible. They lived the dark lives of the possessed.  
  
Indulging desires of the flesh at will. Powerful and skilled beyond match.  
  
The bite of a vampire was supposed to be ecstasy--and they alway bedded their victims first.  
  
At least the true dark ones did.  
  
Their eyes were the first seduction. A vampire's once-soul was trapped in it's eyes.  
  
And when they seduced it glowed with incomparable beauty, pulling the victim in and leaving  
  
them paralyzed. Burning with lust. Blood hot and racing.  
  
And that gaze had not worked on her. She had stared squarely back and surprised  
  
the hell out of him.  
  
She almost laughed. But it had been many years since she had truly laughed. It caught  
  
in her dry throat and died there.  
  
She shuddered. Her lack of desire was so great. Her deadness of soul so complete that  
  
even the seduction of vampires--an irresistible power--did not work on her?  
  
Her faded blue eyes filled with tears in spite of herself. She quickly wiped them away.  
  
I feel nothing....nothing!  
  
And it was then that she saw him. Standing off in the distance. Leaning against a tree.  
  
The dark aura discernible about him made it obvious he was also a vampire. A very   
  
powerful one. A true dark one.  
  
But it was not this that had her staring back without blinking. It was the power of  
  
his gaze. His eyes so blue she could see their colour from where she stood. He was  
  
tall and pale and handsome. His shock of dark hair tossled lightly by the wind.  
  
A strange reaction began burning through her, beginning in the depths of her heart and  
  
threading through her slowly....she did not recognize it at first, standing frozen in  
  
place....not until it stretched through her stomach and arrowed downwards between her  
  
legs.....desire...  
  
She took in a breath sharply. It was the first she had ever felt it and it overwhelmed her,   
  
she fell to her knees.  
  
He jumped then, as though becoming aware of what he was doing and met her gaze again.  
  
His voice echoed in her mind strongly, as though he were speaking from within her.  
  
No, do not see me now.  
  
And in a heartbeat he was gone. The spot where he had stood just a breath before  
  
now vacant.  
  
Serena pulled herself to her feet gasping and stared at it a long moment.  
  
He was gone. But not before she had grasped something from him. Something he did not  
  
mean for her to have. It had simply bled from the light of his eyes into her heart and  
  
burned itself there.  
  
His name.  
  
Darien......  
  



	2. chapter 1

Blood Love  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Author: rain of silver stars  
  
E-mail:  
  
Genre: romance/alt. reality  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: standard  
  
Failed, blank, empty, used  
  
Bare of consequence  
  
Naked of survival  
  
Lost in this first sensation   
  
Something true   
  
In the falsity of my body  
  
Burning in the hollow place inside  
  
Lashing hot against me like a tide....  
  
poem excerpt by Silent Moon  
  
Darien stormed back to the underground dwellings in a fury unmatched in his temper  
  
for some years.  
  
That girl. That foolish girl! First she had resisted Andrews' charms and then...  
  
...then she had been seduced by his!  
  
And she'd never seen him before. Not till then. Caught off guard by her resistence to  
  
vampire hypnotism he had stood dumbfounded as she turned and looked at him!  
  
How could I?! He reprimanded himself.  
  
Being a dark one for as long as he had.....as powerful as he was....that should never  
  
have happened.  
  
Besides, he had been watching her for years and she had never found him....hiding in the  
  
shadows....darkly present as she slept.   
  
She was a fascinating girl. Something almost untouched in such a dreadful human  
  
environment....not human anymore really. He shuddered. Genetic manipulation was   
  
furnishing the planet with evil....  
  
And yet this girl had arrived with pale eyes...almost natural in colour.....with an  
  
innocence in their depths that betrayed kindness....compassion....unnatural qualities  
  
in this part of the world....  
  
He had been watching her for over two years....since she had become reclusive and silent.  
  
Since she had begun travelling at night. He had believed he was protecting her from  
  
the hunt of the newer dark ones....but after her display with Andrew he wondered if that  
  
were even true.  
  
Quite possibly her eyes were powerful enough to withstand the seduction--at least from   
  
the younger vampires.....  
  
He kept storming through the winding hallways until he brushed past Andrew, still hissing  
  
to his fellows.  
  
"She was some sort of freak--she must have been! I have never failed before! She must  
  
possess some sort of magic--or perhaps the humans are breeding a genetic immunity!"  
  
Darien stopped and stepped into the conversation, "Andrew, you know that is not true.  
  
The humans cannot breed an immunity in their genes. Their genetic manipulations are  
  
the reason they are no longer immune....the reason our population has grown so extensively."  
  
Andrew glared at the older, wiser, very powerful man. He hated Darien. His infoulable  
  
calm and sedate demeanor. He had lost his passion for the hunt! He was no longer  
  
vampire.  
  
Andrew forgot Darien was also telepathic.  
  
Passion for the hunt reveals your youth young-one. It does not fade with time, it grows  
  
stronger, subtler, more cunning--as will you. He spoke into Andrew's mind as he walked  
  
away, causing him to start, But you are right, I am no longer vampire. I am a true  
  
dark one.....  
  
The implications of that fact shook Andrew a little. True Dark Ones were the most  
  
powerful of vampires--stronger, wiser......  
  
Legend held it that those who attained such a status hunted effortlessly. That they were  
  
powerful telepaths who could hunt from thousands of miles away, stealing into their victims  
  
minds. That they were darker, possessed more magic, and required far less blood to survive.  
  
The rest of what was rumoured about them was merely myth and heresay--that they could  
  
day-walk outside of the harvest moon.....that they retained some of their soul's power  
  
and were capable of emotion again........  
  
Andrew shook his head. The most ridiculous and awe-inspiring thing he'd ever heard   
  
about true dark ones was that they possessed the power to re-engage their mortality--to return  
  
to human form and live out the rest of their lives. That was unbelievable. Literally.  
  
It simply could not be possible.   
  
He watched after Darien's retreating figure as it glided smoothly down the hall. The   
  
aura of black magic that eminated so effortlessly from his body was testament enough  
  
that Andrew began to seriously wonder.....  
  
It was late, late in the night when Darien heard a commotion from several tunnels away.  
  
Commotions were nothing unusual but a sound filtered through the usual vampire hiss  
  
and caused him to stir and strain to full alertness.  
  
It was a voice. A human voice. Surely no one had dragged a victim here without   
  
hypnotizing them? It would be cruel and terrifying!  
  
But then the voice spoke again and he found himself moving faster than he ever had  
  
before towards its location.  
  
"Leave me alone!" It commanded and he knew before he knew, that it was Serena.  
  
How did she find her way here?!  
  
He appeared in the tunnel in a blur of dark light, invisible to all present. A crowd  
  
of young vampires had formed a circle around her, all trying to hypnotize her while   
  
Andrew stood behind them,  
  
"It won't work! I told you--she's some sort of freak!"  
  
And indeed, their combined stares didn't even touch her.  
  
"Go away!" She cried, "Leave me alone!"  
  
He was about to step forward when someone else did. Another Dark One, much older  
  
than even Darien himself.  
  
Seiya.  
  
His long, lean form glided gracefully through, parting the circle. His feet never touched  
  
the ground. His long black hair trailed down his back.  
  
"A girl who won't be hypnotized? Let me see if I can't remedy that!" He smiled sweetly.  
  
Then he turned his full power on her, energy firing out in all directions and then   
  
channeling into her eyes.  
  
This is it. Thought Darien, watching from the shadows. For Seiya was a much more  
  
powerful vampire than he. Older, stronger, darker and more evil. Seiya had attained  
  
the status of True Dark One unhampered by re-connecting with his soul emotions. He was  
  
one of the most dangerous vampires in the world.  
  
But Serena was untouched by his gaze.  
  
"Please," She said suddenly, making him jump in surprise, "Please just stop all this.  
  
I'm looking for-for Darien."   
  
The use of a vampire name caused everyone and everything to fall silent--including Seiya  
  
who stopped his hypnotism abruptly.  
  
Darien stared at her in shock. Vampires' names were sacred. Never spoken by humans.  
  
How did she know? And how had Seiya's gaze failed, when his own, less powerful one  
  
had not? What did this mean?  
  
He stepped from the shadows then and watched her beautiful eyes widen. He shut his eyes  
  
a moment, shielding their power and pulled his dark aura inward until he walked, with   
  
clearly sounding steps towards her.   
  
Seiya watched on with amusement.  
  
He walked over to her and frowned curiously.   
  
"Darien..." She said softly and his eyebrows raised involuntarily. Then he turned  
  
to his audience,  
  
"Leave." He commanded. He turned to Seiya separately and bowed.  
  
Seiya returned the gesture but vanished chuckling.  
  
Alone in the tunnel, Darien was filled with questions. He looked down at her face as  
  
she searched his own for the reason why he was not seducing her. Though he could not read  
  
her thoughts, he knew by the feverish expression on her face, that she was seeking for it.  
  
He sighed. Her own addiction had brought her here.  
  
"Go." He said in frustration, "You will find no seduction here."  
  
She reached up and caught his shoulder as he turned to walk away, "Please..."  
  
She said softly.  
  
He shut his eyes a moment before turning back to face her, "Go, I will not give you what  
  
you seek. Leave me. You are released."  
  
He attempted to break the spell but it did not seem to work. He could read the hunger   
  
in her eyes.   
  
This could not be....unless....no it was not possible.....she could not simply desire him  
  
of her own accord? There could be no attraction so strong between human and vampire.  
  
He took her by the shoulders, imploring, "Go Serena, I will not bite you!"  
  
But she fell to her knees before him, fists full of his black clothes, "I do not care  
  
what you do with me! Please!"  
  
He sank down to meet her and gathered her up. This powerful, half-magic girl who had  
  
found his name without words.....  
  
He tilted her chin up and saw the desperation in her eyes, "Why?" He asked sadly,  
  
"Why do you wish this?"  
  
She was silent, staring into his still-shielded eyes, her own filling with tears so   
  
suddenly he felt a queer ache start in his chest. But she would not answer.  
  
He brought his hand up to stroke her cheek, "You bring your pain to me...." He said  
  
softly, exercising his most powerful telepathy and finally breaking into her mind,  
  
trying to seek out what she was hiding....trying to be gentle.....  
  
Finally, as her eyes glazed over from the overwhelming sensation, he found it. The memory,  
  
the nightmare. The horrid man in the back of his jeep. His violent desire. Cruel.  
  
Unnatural. The opposite of vampire.  
  
He shut his eyes at the wave of pain and shame that followed it from her. He gathered  
  
her close and said aloud and in her mind as well,  
  
"You have no reason to feel shame small-one......you are not flawed, you are not weak...."  
  
She fell into unconciousness in his arms and he gathered her up and carried her away into  
  
the night. He flew to her window and lay her in her own bed, letting his power return and   
  
glow from his eyes and skin. He watched startled as her body reacted, arching closer to   
  
his own.  
  
I do not understand.... He thought, shaking his head. A girl who felt no desire.   
  
Could not be seduced by her own, or even by the most powerful of vampires....and yet,  
  
she desired him.....?  
  
He leaned down and gently kissed her forehead,  
  
"Sacred dreams, small-one." He whispered, trying to cast the spell with his words.  
  
And oddly, for just a moment, it seemed a brief smile tugged at the corners of her  
  
mouth.  
  
"I will return..." He promised--though he did not know why.....then he was gone.  
  



	3. chapter 2

Blood Love  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Author: rain of silver stars  
  
E-mail:  
  
Genre: romance/alt. reality  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: standard  
  
I will pray for you  
  
I will pray for you  
  
I will sell my soul for something pure and true  
  
Someone like you  
  
I will burn for you  
  
Feel pain for you  
  
I will twist a knife and bleed my aching heart  
  
And tear it apart  
  
Violate all the love that I'm missing  
  
Throw away all the pain that I'm living  
  
You will believe in me  
  
And I can never be ignored  
  
from "#1 Crush" by Garbage  
  
Serena awoke late in the day. She had slept through all her classes, all her meals....  
  
But she felt refreshed and content upon waking--something she had not felt since   
  
she was a small child.  
  
She stretched comfortably and walked over to the window.  
  
Below, on the vast campus, a girl walked through the yard, unseeing of the young,  
  
dark man leaning against a tree nearby. He walked towards her and Serena watched,  
  
transfixed, as he hypnotized her and gathered her up in his arms before carrying her away   
  
to the tunnels below.  
  
It was then Serena remembered. Darien....  
  
She thought of the previous night and shivered. She had watched him shield his magic.  
  
She didn't understand why he had. Why should vampires care if their victims were willing?  
  
Didn't that make it even easier?  
  
She no longer cared to live, and the desire his gaze overwhelmed her senses with was   
  
the first true thing she had felt in her life. And she knew, quite suddenly, she would   
  
do anything to feel it again.  
  
Why it was only he who evoked it she did not know. She did not care. She wanted only  
  
the completion of that sensation--and then, death.  
  
There could be nothing else.  
  
"Darien..." She whispered, then shut her eyes and focused her mind's voice and imagined  
  
it reaching through the tunnels to him,  
  
Darien....?  
  
And in a blur he was there, in her room, behind her, "Yes?"  
  
She started and turned 'round. But once again he had shielded his magic. Her eyes  
  
grew sorrowful and desperate. She walked over to him and he remained still as she slipped  
  
her arms about his shoulders, pleading, "Please....why don't you take me?"  
  
His eyes filled with sadness--something she did not think possible for vampires.  
  
"Why do you wish to die small-one? Did I cast so strong a spell? And now that I try to  
  
undo it, you remain unchanged.....I do not understand...?"  
  
She gripped his shoulders tightly, "I have nothing....I wish only for death....but your  
  
death offers me the gift of desire......please....please take me--"  
  
She pressed her lips to his in the first kiss she had ever offered anyone. And he knew  
  
for he read it in her thoughts. And something about the feel of her, in mind and in  
  
body, made him linger in the kiss, reading her deeper.  
  
He kept going, farther and farther into her mind......to realize that she craved this desire  
  
because it was the first and only she had ever felt....because it was the first real  
  
experience of sensation in her life.....  
  
He carried her to the bed and laid her back, letting his power creep softly back...watching  
  
as her body reacted swiftly. But he knew he could not bite her. No matter how tempting  
  
it would be.   
  
And it was tempting.   
  
Her slender body arched so unmistakably towards him. Her pale throat exposed and vulnerable.  
  
Her blood would be sweet for she was young, and sweet for she had lost control. Perhaps   
  
sweeter still because she seemed to want him.   
  
But she was too beautiful, too innocent. He had not bitten in centuries. Had not   
  
ventured physically near a mortal in even longer. But something had drawn him to her,  
  
when he glimpsed her trudging listlessly through the tunnels so late at night. Something  
  
that made him follow her and watch her sleep. Something that urged compassion from him.  
  
Something he had forgotten he could feel--surrounded by all this putrid, over-perfected  
  
corruption.  
  
He shut his eyes briefly as he bent over her, memories of his younger years surfacing   
  
to haunt him. It had been a long, long time since he had seduced a woman.  
  
He trailed kisses down her neck as her lithe body arched towards him.  
  
"Please....please..." She begged softly.  
  
He sighed, tugging gently at her clothes....his touch soft and sensual....like a true lover.  
  
He finally slid the last of her clothes off carefully and ran his hands smoothly up her  
  
legs....over her stomach...across her breasts.....into her hair and back down....  
  
He gazed down at her glazed expression with irrepresible satisfaction. She tugged  
  
impatiently at his own clothes, begging him to join her but he held back,  
  
"No no my small Sere.....I will not bite you....."   
  
He leaned down and kissed her once more, letting his hands wander between her thighs,   
  
making her moan and sigh, "I will find other ways to pleasure you...." He whispered   
  
before trailing his lips down her throat, across her sweet breasts, down her stomach...  
  
....down....down....but with a sudden shock he struggled with himself--with an   
  
overwhelming urge to bite her. He was both startled and horrified that she should effect  
  
him this way--and without their even making love!  
  
He forced back his instincts however, and let his lips continue their search until  
  
he heard her gasp and then cry out--pressing her hips closer--yearning for more. He moved  
  
in a steady rhythm that had her crying out--and he fearing that someone would hear and   
  
burst in. But when no one did he relaxed and took to exploring her mind again.   
  
This time he went further and read her childhood.....and what he found caused him a  
  
terrible shock. Her spirit--her soul! What had happened to her? She had been so  
  
delightful and sweet and true! Had fate been so cruel as to spoil so beautiful a creature?  
  
Now she lay trembling beneath him, begging for death?  
  
He vowed then and there to care for her and return that spirit to her. He would find   
  
out her deepest wish--her most cherished hope since forsaken, and he would make it come  
  
true--no matter what.   
  
For he knew, quite suddenly, that he loved her.  
  
But he needed to buy some time. She lay expecting death and he knew if he did not  
  
make her believe he would give it to her, she would take her own life this night.  
  
He waited till she cried out in release, her body shaking uncontrollably with pleasure,  
  
before doing one of the hardest things for any vampire to do--impossible for the young  
  
ones--even Seiya himself!  
  
He bit her without taking blood. It evoked the same sensation, but it was a terrible  
  
temptation--most could not resist.  
  
He reached her neck and carefully sunk his teeth in--fighting the burning urge to   
  
drink her sweet blood--to share the ecstasy.  
  
He heard her gasp out in pleasure and whisper something softly in his mind....his heart  
  
broke at the words for she believed she was dying...  
  
Thank you....  
  
Then she drifted into a dark slumber and Darien carried her away into the night.  
  



	4. chapter 3

Blood Love  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Author: Silver Star  
  
E-mail: moonsilverstaryahoo.com  
  
Genre: romance/alt. reality  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: standard  
  
like an endless black road  
  
stretching far past my eyes  
  
I am standing I am yearning  
  
you to find  
  
And if you capture me  
  
if your darkness finds my veins  
  
I'll surrendor me  
  
to satisfy this burning  
  
moment's ecstasy for consequences  
  
best left behind  
  
what is this strange strong desire?  
  
always calling out in me  
  
never satisfied completely  
  
ever trying to entreat me  
  
I am tangled up and weak  
  
silent ending me to speak  
  
Is it there?  
  
Is it something?  
  
Can it be?  
  
Will it return?  
  
poem by natia99  
  
When Serena awoke, it was slowly. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized she was  
  
being cradeled in Darien's arms, her head lieing softly against his shoulder as he   
  
sat with her in his lap.   
  
"Sere...." He whispered softly, stroking her face gently, smiling at her waking face.  
  
She stared half-dazed at him a moment. He always called her Sere....pronouncing it  
  
'Sair'....or small-one.....why was that?.....then full realization hit her....  
  
Her eyes filled with tears, "Why am I still alive?"  
  
His face pinched with sorrow, "I will not kill you Sere. I cannot."  
  
He held her closer then, stroking her long hair, "I looked into your mind....and saw  
  
what you once were. I swear to you I will return that to you...."  
  
She cried into his dark, rough clothes until she fell into sleep again.  
  
When she awoke again she lay on a rough cotton bed in a small dark room with stone walls.   
  
She sat up, "Darien...?" She whispered into the dim lighting of the torch on  
  
one wall.  
  
He appeared in an instant, "Sere."  
  
"How long have I been sleeping?" She asked with confusion.  
  
He smiled faintly again, "Time is meaningless with me Sere..."  
  
She nodded then. Begging for death, in the dark realms of the vampire, time really  
  
didn't hold meaning any more.  
  
He stepped over to her bed and it was then she realized he held a bowl of steaming soup.  
  
"Here Sere.....eat...."  
  
But she turned away, refusing. He sat sorrowfully beside her.  
  
Please small-one.... He implored into her thoughts.  
  
And suddenly she turned and took the soup, eating it carefully. He smiled, brushing   
  
her long hair back over her shoulders. It was clean and smooth--like her skin and she  
  
suddenly realized he had bathed her.  
  
She kept on eating the soup though her body no longer wanted it. She would need all  
  
her strength to seduce him into biting her......she still wanted to die....  
  
And so, when he returned later, it was to find that she had discarded her long cotton  
  
night gown and lay bare and beautiful waiting for him--arms outstretched. She was still  
  
dreadfully thin from not eating....she really did not realize how long she had been  
  
here. Her lips were still dry, her eyes hollow.....  
  
He sighed heavily, "Why...? Why Sere?"  
  
He went over and took her arms, "I will not--" He stopped abruptly as she pulled him to her  
  
with remarkable strength--the strength of desperation. Her hands tore at his clothes,  
  
bareing his chest and then moving to slip down between his legs....  
  
He shut his eyes involuntarily but then grabbed her arms, "No Sere!" He cried and  
  
his voice was a roar, "I will not! I refuse to kill you!"  
  
But she kept on, wrapping herself around him and trailing her lips down his throat....over  
  
his shoulders....hands trembling as they stroked his skin.  
  
And he let her. Though it was torture.  
  
If it is pleasure you wish....then I will give it to you... He whispered into her  
  
mind, But not death....I will not give you death.....  
  
The last words were spoken so softly that she nearly missed them....but they echoed  
  
again and again into their love making,  
  
Take my love in its place....  
  
Love, an ancient emotion. Darien must have been an ancient vampire.   
  
His words shattered something long standing inside of her and broke through....  
  
He lay her back on the bed and let her tug off the rest of his clothes, touch him until  
  
his desire made his magic slip back out and glow from him......burning into her.  
  
He watched her eyes glaze over and her legs arch slowly back....inviting...  
  
He ran his hands over her and buried them in her hair as he came down slowly to meet  
  
her--and then--even through the glaze of his magic's hypnotism, he watched fear flash  
  
briefly through her eyes....  
  
He felt his soul aching in his own eyes to see it.....  
  
There is nothing to fear Sere.....nothing to fear.... He murmured softly into her  
  
mind. Being gentle and passionate with her.  
  
He eased into her slowly, carefully, pressing cautiously until he was completely inside.  
  
And he watched her face relax and another smile tug at the corners of her mouth as  
  
she reached instinctively for him.  
  
Arms tight about him, lips pressed to his in hungry gratitude, he fought the urge to  
  
surrendor to her pleasure. To lose everything. But he would not.  
  
He let his mind slip into hers and read her pleasure....touching her the way she wanted  
  
to be touched.....and he watched as her body became more demanding, her soft moans more  
  
desperate....and as she began to release he bit her again....  
  
And she was overwhelmed by ecstasy. The pleasure of his body inside her, the pleasure  
  
of his bite....her body was stiff in his grasp, taut with rapture as she gasped for  
  
breath. And then she opened glazed eyes to meet his as he pulled away and she realized...  
  
There was no blood.   
  
She reached up and ran shaky fingers over the bite on her neck, drew them away and saw  
  
no blood. She looked at him in astonishment and opened her mouth to speak when she fell  
  
back in exhaustion. Drifting into the dark slumber of the bitten.  
  
Her mind was reeling. Both from pleasure and the realization that he had bitten her  
  
without drawing blood. That was supposed to be impossible for vampires--unless they were  
  
truly powerful and truly desired to leave their victims unharmed.  
  
He resisted his own overwhelming desire to satisfy hers alone. It was an act of extreme  
  
care and compassion. It was an act of love.  
  
The realization shot through her like electricity....woke the long dead parts of her  
  
she had forsaken as a child.  
  
She fell asleep content.  
  
And this time when she woke, cradeled again in Darien's arms, her arms wrapped round   
  
his neck and she cuddled closer--trying to remember how--the way  
  
she had tried with her mother before she had pushed her away.  
  
She felt him stiffen with surprise as she pulled back and pressed a soft kiss  
  
to his cheek--her lips warm.  
  
"Say those words again...?" She asked softly.  
  
He met her eyes, "What words my small Sere?"  
  
Her face grew serious and curious, "About....love....?"  
  
Now his face relaxed and he smiled.  
  
You mean that I love you? He murmured into her mind and felt his eyes ache again  
  
as she struggled with what looked like a smile.  
  
Yes... She answered into his mind, surprising him.  
  
Then she spoke aloud and her voice was suddenly so innocent, like a childs,  
  
"May I love you in return?"  
  
And he suddenly pulled her to him tightly, holding her fiercely and she read his  
  
sudden thoughts,   
  
Of course you may! Of course you may! You complete my heart Sere....my beautiful  
  
Sere....  
  
They jumbled into an emotion then, that warmed her body in his arms. She sighed and   
  
buried her face in his chest, and used a word she had found in a very old book, a very long  
  
time ago.  
  
Beloved.....  
  
His arms grew even tighter.....and then he swept her back to his room, drawing a bath  
  
for her and bathing her gently.  
  
She met his tender eyes with her own pale ones and fashioned a smile for him. It was  
  
strange--for she had not smiled in many years. Not really.   
  
It felt lovely. Everything with Darien--she realized suddenly--felt lovely. The way  
  
he touched her, the way he spoke to her. It was as though he were composed entirely of  
  
kindness and sweetness and care. Even though he was a dark being of evil. She didn't  
  
know what to make of it.  
  
He drew the cloth up and ran water over her shoulder, lifting her hair up and out of  
  
the way. She closed her eyes as yet another pleasurable sensation ebbed over her.  
  
Then her stomach rumbled. She flushed a little--embarassed.  
  
He merely chuckled and pointed behind her, "Have some of those."  
  
She turned and there was a bowl of the most delicious looking strawberries she had ever  
  
seen.  
  
"Strawberries! However did you--? Why, they aren't even grown anymore!" She picked  
  
one up and eyed it with real delight before laughing--really laughing.  
  
She turned back to him, "You are truly magic!"  
  
He smiled and raised his eyebrows, "So are you Sere."  
  
She reached up and caught his hand, "But you are so kind and gentle....I do  
  
not understand? Why are you so good to me?"  
  
She saw the love in his eyes and felt it in her mind. But she saw something else.  
  
Images of herself in the tunnels....and sleeping at night....  
  
Her eyes widened, "You...You've been watching me!"  
  
He jumped a bit at this and closed his mind to her abruptly.  
  
"Why?" She asked after a strained pause.  
  
He seemed to choose his words carefully, "Something drew me to you Sere....I could  
  
not say what it is. Now I see you are a telepath. You realize that don't you? And  
  
a very powerful one too--humans have forgotten they used to be telepaths....but you,  
  
you have those eyes....."  
  
She was taken aback. Her eyes....they had always been a source of shame to her.  
  
They set her apart, from her parents, from her peers. Although she had researched  
  
the past, all records of the former abilities of humans was gone. Telepaths? And  
  
her eye colour gave it away?   
  
He watched her taking in that new knowledge and shook his head, "You have much  
  
of the old way in you. The kindness, the compassion, the empathy--they are  
  
ancient qualities..."  
  
He trailed off and realized just then, how he had craved the ancient ways. How  
  
she was a breath of the life he had left behind so very long ago. It brought  
  
so much tenderness out of him that he truly felt the edges of his emotional  
  
power now that he was a dark one. It was almost like having his soul in his  
  
body again.  
  
"So that day I saw you," She teased, "I actually caught you?"  
  
She was amused to see him look rather embarassed at that.  
  
"I could not believe you resisted a Vampyre seduction." He recalled.  
  
He thought again of Seiya failing when he himself had not--Seiya was more  
  
powerful--what did that mean?  
  
She seemed almost to sense his thoughts--though he was keeping them to  
  
himself.   
  
"I want only you." She said very seriously--though she looked a little embarassed  
  
to say it so bluntly. But she smiled at him and he found himself smiling back.  
  
He braided her long hair into many braids and let it trail down her back still.  
  
Then he pulled a white cotton dress--seemingly out of thin air--and let her pull it on.  
  
He smiled and drew her into his arms, "Now Sere....I will take you to see the world,  
  
anywhere you want to go. I will show you all the most beautiful places..."  
  
Her eyes widened and then in a dark blur they were off and flying--like magic.  
  
She held tightly to him, content in his touch. Here, with this beautiful, dark being.  
  
This ancient, mystic man, she felt sensations so strong and real. Life was worth living  
  
as long as she had him....  
  



	5. chapter 4

Blood Love  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Author: Silver Star  
  
E-mail:  
  
Genre: romance/alt. reality  
  
Rated: R  
  
Disclaimer: standard  
  
If it's you  
  
your love I make a home in  
  
your sweet soft tender body  
  
I make love to  
  
your kisses I tangle my soul in  
  
let thoughts slip to bliss slip away  
  
If it's you  
  
your sudden deep love that ties you to me  
  
frightens you and frees you  
  
so you will follow me everywhere I chance to go  
  
if in my skin you find release  
  
my smile you find my soul beauty  
  
let me know  
  
let me see  
  
lose yourself  
  
your everything  
  
in me  
  
Poem excerpt by natia99  
  
Darien took Serena to see all the oceans of the world. They walked every shore together  
  
at sunset and sunrise. They saw every mountain and stayed in the hidden, sacred villages  
  
tucked in their midst with the kind townspeople still living life in the natural way.  
  
Serena grew healthier and happier before his very eyes. Her smile and laugh returned.  
  
Her cold numbness dispelled. He was glad that his travelling had sparked her spirits  
  
back to life.  
  
He never realized it was his love.  
  
He knew he would eventually have to release her. Perhaps to one of these villages, to  
  
live out her life. There could be no other way. The temptation was too great.  
  
Such as one afternoon, as they walked through endless wheat fields in some magical country  
  
along the journey. Serena looked curiously at him,  
  
"How are you still able to walk during the day? It must be past the Harvest Moon..."  
  
He raised his eyebrows, "You impress me with your knowledge. It is past then indeed  
  
but I am powerful enough to walk about whenever I please."  
  
"You must be very old to be so magic." She said softly.  
  
"I am." He replied.  
  
"How old?" She asked curiously.  
  
"Time has no meaning for me Sere, remember?" He smiled.  
  
She frowned so he added, "I was twenty-five years old when I was bitten and converted.   
  
It was a long, long time ago....thousands of years it seems....."  
  
His voice grew faraway, "Did you know Sere, that when I was mortal, everyone was  
  
natural?"  
  
She nodded, "I studied the ancient times."  
  
"They all had spirit and kindness and compassion like you."  
  
She smiled, "And love?"  
  
He caught her up into his arms, "And love. But I have never known love before  
  
you my Sere...."  
  
She kissed him then, he had been evading her lips since they began travelling.   
  
Beloved.. She murmured tenderly, wrapping her arms about his neck.  
  
The kiss deepened and he pulled her tightly against him a moment, an incoherant moan  
  
breaking from his throat.  
  
Sere.... His minds voice caressed her, enchanted her....seducing.  
  
His lips trailed down to her throat and then suddenly--and quite violently--he pulled  
  
away. Turning from her and hiding his face. Breathing hard.  
  
"What's the matter?" She cried in alarm.  
  
"I can't! I can't!" He cried brokenly. With her spirit so fresh and alive, it was  
  
she that seduced him....and he could barely resist. His blood lust overwhelming his   
  
body's desire.  
  
She tried to touch his shoulder but he jerked away, "No! Go! I will be fine in   
  
a moment--but leave me now!"  
  
She watched with sorrowful eyes and attempted to sooth him with her mind's voice,  
  
Beloved, I--  
  
But he cut her off desperately, No! Please Sere! No! I cannot resist you if you  
  
do! Leave me now!  
  
His voice was shaky and fierce.  
  
She backed away and then dropped to her knees, burying her face in her apron.  
  
And long moments later, she felt the touch of his hands on her shoulders. She tried  
  
to pull away but opened her eyes and met his own sorrowful ones,  
  
"I am sorry Sere...." He gathered her tear-streaked face in his hands and pulled her   
  
into his arms, "I am sorry.....sometimes....you are too great a temptation....and I never  
  
want you to see what a monster my blood-lust makes me...."  
  
"I forget you know....that you are....are.." She trailed off as he stroked her hair  
  
and kissed her softly, "I promise it will not happen again." He vowed.  
  
But it did.  
  
In fact it began to happen far too often. And it broke Serena's heart. This man that  
  
she loved, possessed by such evil that he could not let his body love her.....  
  
Finally, one night, he asked her where she wished to go, now that she had been everywhere.  
  
"If you could go anywhere Sere, where would your heart wish to go most?"  
  
She smiled, stroking his face gently, "When I was a girl, I wanted to go to the moon. I  
  
studied the rebel civilization there as much as I could. I used to pray every night  
  
that they would come take me away....but they never did."  
  
He watched her face surprised. He had assumed she would choose one of the sacred  
  
Mountain villages. He'd forgotten about the Moon people. They were mystics. Beautiful,  
  
sentient people. They were perfect for her. A place to live her life.  
  
"Then, to the moon you will go." He promised.  
  
"You mean we will go!" She laughed, cuddling closer to him.  
  
"No Sere," He said seriously and her breath caught, "Just you my love."  
  
"No!" She cried in anguish, "I will not go without you!"  
  
"Sere! This cannot continue! I am vampire, and loving you, keeping you, it makes  
  
it inevitable that I will lose control and bite you! And I cannot! I will not!  
  
You must go on without me. We cannot stay together!"  
  
She had known, in some small place inside her, that these things would come  
  
to the surface. He was Immortal and she was not. He was Vampire and served  
  
whims and hungers she could not fathom. But desperately she ignored all this.  
  
Her eyes were fierce and determined, "I will not go ANYWHERE without YOU!"  
  
He shook his head sadly, "Sere, go to the moon, start your life, without me...."  
  
And in a blur of dark light, he flew her to the Mountain Village that smuggled people to  
  
the moon....and left her there....  
  
"NO!" She cried out in agony....and her minds voice cried out, reached him and  
  
echoed into his aching body....making him burn....and regret.....  
  
Beloved!  
  
"I am so sorry.....my Sere....."  
  



	6. Chapter 5

Blood Love Chapter 5

Author: Silver Star E-mail:  
Genre: romance/alt. reality Rated: R Disclaimer: standard

Searching as it twists up inside me (again)  
I can only reliquinsh my will let it happen haunts me still drives me anguished standing without identity breathless looking over the canyon searching endless to find what I know not.  
poem excerpt by natia99 

October. 4001 AD. Morning.

Serena stood on the cliff overlooking the sparkling river far below. The wind was gentle against her skin. The village nestled away behind her.

The people were peaceful and lived in harmony with their surroundings. They had been very kind to her when she arrived. Feeding and clothing her, trying to bring her back to life.

But there was no life without Darien. He was her harmony. Her balance.

She took a deep breath and stepped up to the edge.

"You're not going to jump are you?" A sweet voice cut through the silence, startling her so she almost fell. But his dark power caught her and steadied her. Even though the man himself was still standing some feet behind her.

She turned. The dark vampire from the tunnels, the oldest that had tried to seduce her, stood there. His long black hair was glossy over his shoulders.  
His smooth skin surprisingly beautiful.

She looked into his eyes, "Seiya..." She said, knowing his name before he spoke it.

He arched an eyebrow, "Indeed. I am impressed." He bowed before her.  
"You are wise and powerful--and yet so young."

He stepped closer to her, "I am one of the oldest vampires--nearly as old as the one that converted Darien. I have known him for a long time. Hundreds of years actually."

She stared at him a moment, "Why should you care if I jump?"

He smiled, "Because of Darien of course!"

"What about Darien?" She asked softly, sadly.

"He is trying to die. I have never seen a vampire try this before. You see, you are quite a powerful telepath--though you do not realize--and your voice haunts him."

Her eyes filled with tears, "How can he die? Isn't he too powerful?"

Seiya shook his head, "If he remains still, in the darkness for long enough, he will turn to dust..."

"But--but--what can I do?" She cried desperately, "He won't be with me!"

Seiya held out his hand, "Come with me...I will take you to him."

And in a blur he had her back in the tunnels, just outside his door,  
"If you both wish to die..." He whispered pointedly. 

Then he was gone.

Serena pushed the door open to Darien's room and walked in. It was pitch black and her eyes were some time in adjusting before she made out the outline of his figure, standing against the back wall, arms curled up like a corpse. Eyes closed.

"Darien!" She cried out brokenly, running to him.

His eyes fluttered open and he stared at her in surprise, "Sere...?"

"What have you done to yourself?" She cried, gathering his feeble body into her arms.

"Why didn't you go to the moon?" He asked softly as she wrenched his stiff arms apart.

"I will not go anywhere without you! I do not wish to live without you beloved!"

She watched his eyes fill up, "Neither do I Sere...death is welcome without you. But,  
we can never be..."

She shook him passionately, "Do you wish to be mortal again?"

He started as she guessed his one wish. 

"Yes..." He said, voice choked with emotion.

"Then there must be a way!" She cried.

He looked away then, trying to hide a sudden truth and her eyes widened.

She froze, "Th-there is a way, isn't there?" She practically whispered.

He would not meet her gaze.

"THERE IS!" She cried angrily, shaking him by the shoulders, "Why didn't you tell me!  
Tell me now, what is it? Whatever it is--"

"No, it is impossible! It could never work!" He said desperately, imploring her, "And if it failed, the price would be too much for me to bear!"

But she was immovable. He could see it in the firm set of her posture. She simply stared at him waiting.

He sighed, and then conceded defeat.  
"We must make love..."

She frowned, "Make love? But we already have--"

"No no my love. We must make love and I must finish...I must..." He took a deep breath, "I must release..."

She was thoughtful a moment, remembering that he never had.

"Vampires never reach release when they bed their victims...their blood lust overwhelms them first. It is...irresistible...but if a vampire can make love to a woman who he loves truly and who loves him truly and finish...let physical desire be enough...ignore the unearthly desire...then he will be mortal again..."

He paused, "He must also abstain from blood...for a long, long time."

She gazed wide-eyed back at him, "Have you?" She asked timidly, heart pounding in her chest.

He nodded, "Yes."

She did not hesitate, pulling him towards the bed, "Then that is what we will do. Our love is true. I know it is! I love you Darien!"

She tugged at her dress.

"No, no, you do not understand, I cannot resist!" He pulled her dress back up her shoulders,  
"I cannot resist and if I don't I will kill you! I could not bear it!"

But she grabbed his shoulders, "There is no life without you! Do it!"

He stared at her sorrowfully a long moment, "I do not know if I am strong enough my Sere."

"I know you are..."

"I love you..." He said aloud, not in her mind. It sounded very sweet.  
Then he stepped back, standing still a moment, eyes closed.

"I must release all my power." He warned.

She nodded and lay back on the bed, slipping off her dress. He shut his eyes and let out a deep breath and the room was filled with dark, smoky looking tendrils that swept out from his aura and tangled round whatever they touched. 

She watched enraptured as they slid up the bed and touched her skin before he did.  
His eyes glowed brighter and she was frozen by their gaze--only jerked away by the sensation of his magic touching her, stroking her...

He came to the bed slowly and bent over her as she pulled away his clothes and then his lips sought hers in a strange comfort.

It had been centuries since he released his magic, and it was overwhelming. So was his desire for her. And her blood.

She felt the kiss deepen and for the first time, his surrendor to desire. His smooth control was gone and his hands trembled as they touched her.

She shivered. This was even better. Knowing at last, that she made him feel.

He reeled back suddenly, and his face revealed he was battling between his twin desires. His eyes rolled back a moment and then she watched in astonishment as they changed...the blue was replaced by an eerie red. He kept blinking it away but it returned. His teeth had extended but he bit them back and seemed to gain control. His face returned to it's near-human expression and she drew him back into her kisses.

Beloved...you are so strong and beautiful to me...we will have the perfect life together...on the moon...you will be my husband and I your wife...and someday I will have your baby...

Her words made love fill his touch and with his magic released she could read his thoughts clearly. As he slipped inside her with a low moan she pushed into his memories...there were so many...so many years of being a vampire.

She kept going back...back...through the torturous years where he fought for control over his demonic new power. Back to his first horrific moments of vampire...back to the man he had been before. 

A kind young man, on a farm...some ancient time before. Living with his loving parents, preparing to own his own farm...She watched him smile and laugh with his brothers and sisters. He was beautiful.

And then...a dark woman had crept into his room in the night. An evil woman.  
Her fiery red hair nearly glowing in the moonlight. She desired him for he was handsome. Very handsome.

And she stole him away to her dark cave and tied him up. Hypnotizing him and then making a slow, deliberate effort of converting him. She possessed him and bit him over and over...seducing him against his will--though he begged for mercy...it was horrible.

And at last...after countless nights of torture...she left him there, tied, broken,  
and vampire. He woke and the full horror of what had happened to him overwhelmed him and he wept...

Serena felt her eyes fill with tears,  
Beloved...what a cruel fate...

She pulled back through his memories and saw the same evil vampire return and try to seduce him again. But he refused...over and over again until finally striking out,  
throwing her back with his dark magic. After that, she never returned.

Though a sudden memory of Seiya mentioning her had her wondering if he had not intervened.  
She had an odd premonition that Seiya had killed her. That Darien was an old friend of his.

She stumbled across a memory of Seiya telling him--just after he had met her,  
"You've gone and formed a soul-bond, you foolish man!"

"What do you mean?" Darien had asked.

"With that girl. She is your soul mate. I have not seen one in centuries. Not since ancient times. But you are cursed vampire. It will only cause you suffering.  
She will haunt you now, and drive you mad when she is gone."

Serena felt Darien's inner heartache at his words and tears surfaced again.  
Then she found his love for her and caught her breath. It was beautiful. Perfect.  
True. Complete.

Beloved... She murmured into him in awe.

She pulled back until she was aware of the room and her own pleasure again. They had been making love for a long time now...

She stayed deep enough in his thoughts to sense what pleasured him and did. Touching him the way he wanted to be touched. Moving beneath him and steadying their rhythm until his face changed, focused on the driving rush of their pleasure. 

Sere... She felt him trying to restrain the dark magic from her name...trying not to seduce her with his spell--though it came naturally--much more naturally even then being human. What did twenty-five years compare to thousands?

But his eyes fluttered open to reveal they were red once again, and his teeth fought their way out. The room swelled with his power...ancient, dark, evil...and overwhelming to him...

Just a little longer beloved... She murmured into his mind, as her own pleasure began to overwhelm her...if this was the end, then they would die in ecstasy.

His hands gripped her legs as he pressed fiercely into her...losing himself more and more. Gasping with pleasure...the blackest of his magic spilling out until she was out of her mind with it...seduced completely.

And so was he.

He struggled and fought and prayed...but the grip of the evil that possessed him was far reaching...controlling his body. His once-soul held only his eyes...and the emotions of his mind...so that he was racked with agony at his body's urge to hunt...

He tried to focus on the pleasure of her body against his...but it only strengthened his blood-lust until he couldn't bear it...he felt his body betraying him.

He arched back and cried out in agony, "God forgive me! I can't!" And then, with a swiftness of movement that betrayed how ancient he truly was, he tilted her back to bite her neck, his body no longer his own...

But just as his teeth nipped her neck, he felt her release, sharp and fierce beneath him, arching her small body into his with involuntary rapture.

And something about the movement caused his own pleasure to peak. And then he felt the once-familiar rush...the strong sensation of it and his eyes froze in awe. It had been so long he had forgotten...

Serena fluttered back to awareness as she felt his climax and smiled, looking up at his still twisted face. She was blind to the red glow of his eyes, the sharp reach of his teeth...she felt only joy,  
You did it...beloved...you did it...

The words sank in slowly and his eyes filled with such sudden innocence, tears pierced her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

Then, in a burst of unnatural light, all his magic fled from him, making him cry out sharply as he lost control of his body. His teeth receded back. The red vanished from his eyes and the soul-glow from them spread slowly through his body...his soul was free to possess his flesh once again...and then it dimmed and he was released, collapsing into her arms unconscious. Mortal again.

She felt the heat return to his body and the noises he was suddenly able to make again.  
His light snore, the rumble of his stomach, the beat of his heart...she smiled.

He was alive.

Some hours later he awoke in Serena's arms. She was still holding him, running her fingers through his hair, and down his back...the actual sensation of this was what woke him fully.

"Sere...?" He managed, trying to pull himself up, feeling heavier without his magic.

"Yes my love?" She smiled, "How do you feel?"

Memories flooded his senses then and he cried out sharply, "Sere! I almost--I would have--"

"But you didn't beloved, you didn't." She soothed, then she pulled him closer to her again, "You are free now, and we can spend our lives together..."

His eyes filled up with tears then, as he gazed down at her sweet face, "Sere...you are so precious to me..." He finished in a whisper and she kissed him--carefully at first, but then with a passion that answered his worry of only his magic being able to seduce her.

She welcomed him back to her body warm and tender. And for the first time he didn't have to worry, didn't have to exercise control. He smiled at her, the sensation of her skin against his making him realize he was warm again...blood ran through his veins...his blood...

And then her legs wrapped around him and he knew only pleasure...his pleasure...and looking down to her face...her pleasure as well.

Can you still hear me beloved? She said softly into his mind.

He smiled again, Yes, my Sere...

She smiled back. 

I have always been a telepath... He confided.

She pulled him back into a kiss and he murmured soft things to her, in voice and in mind.  
And then he let his thoughts drift away as the simple ecstasy of love making overtook him.

"I had forgotten..." He moaned against her and then met her eyes full of love for him.

She giggled then--a real giggle, "I'll be sure to remind you often."

And the thought of that...of sharing this with his love every night...overwhelmed him.  
She felt the wave of love rush out of him and her smile faded as she enjoyed the rapturous sensation.

And I love you...beloved... She murmured back.

And some hours later they emerged. Rough cotton clothes failing to conceal that they were both mortal. 

Darien tucked Serena protectively behind him, "We are too far into the tunnels Sere..."

She shivered. 

But then Darien shut his eyes and called for someone. Someone who appeared in an instant.

Seiya.

He grinned bewitchingly at them both, and then arched an eyebrow, "Why Darien, I do believe you are mortal again!"

Darien smiled wryly, "Indeed I am. I am sorry that our friendship cannot last longer than this lifetime old friend."

Now Seiya smiled, "It will endure. It will endure. What do you wish of me?"

"There is somewhere we need to go--can you take us there?"

Seiya bowed and held out both his hands.

And then, in a blur of light, they were back to the same mountain village...the one that smuggled people to the moon.

Seiya smiled at them again, "Goodbye..."

Then he was gone.

Serena looked after him wonderingly, "What an enigmatic man...he holds no compassion and yet, calls you friend and shows you fierce loyalty."

Darien smiled, "Seiya respects me. He admired my exercise of control--he thought it was a show of great strength. And once, a very long time ago...I saved his life."

Serena nodded.

Then Darien took her hand and led her towards the village, "Let's go start the rest of our lives..."

...my beautiful Sere... He finished in her mind.

She smiled and they walked away together. 


	7. epilogue

Blood Love Epilogue

Author: Silver Star E-mail:  
Genre: romance/alt. reality Rated: R Disclaimer: standard

Love Makes itself sweetly Lays itself deeply Softly and true

Love Burns so completely Desire entreats me Lover it's you

And have I ever known before?  
Could I ever such implore?  
Wishing with this silver dream Is this all the way it seems?

Perfect love Perfect joy Breathed beautiful moment Stretching effortless to forever Golden with certainty Precious with content.  
poem by natia99

Darien crunched through the lush moon fields of his farm with ease. He had adjusted to the moon's slightly altered gravity with relative ease--having spent thousands of years knowing how to fly. It had take Serena longer--but her telepathy had helped.

The moons' civilization was all they had dreamed it to be. The people were wise and peaceful and kind. They had welcomed the awed young couple with open, joyous arms. He would never forget the look on Serena's face when the ruling woman had rushed over to her and cried,  
"My darling darling girl, we heard you! Every night you called out we heard you! But we could not bring you until you discovered your soulmate. Only soulmates can come, and they must come together! But we were watching over you!"

She had crushed the bewildered and overwhelmed Serena in a hug and Serena had never been the same.

Her telepathy was unmatched on the silver planet and they were all very taken and impressed with her. Having such nearly natural traits in the face of strong genetic programming was a sign that brought hope to every Lunarian.

Serena had quickly adjusted to Moon life, engaging in all the activities and becoming an active member of the governing council. 

But most importantly, she and Darien had been married. And Darien had nearly burst with the joy of it. Of being free to live and love again. He built his farm with painstaking care and it showed. Endless fields of the most beautiful vegetables in that part of the country. 

Every morning he rose and went to work, and every night he returned to the arms of his loving wife. Joy did not begin to describe it.

Today he had returned to the house only to find she had wandered away. He sifted through the various fields surrounding the house until he spotted her at the far fence, gazing dreamily out into the inky sky as the sun kissed the earth's surface.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms about her slender frame, kissing her cheek,  
"What are you doing out here Sere?"

"Just dreaming beloved, just dreaming." She smiled, snuggling back against him.

His hands slipped down over her rounded belly and he smiled to match her, "There is so much to dream of now..."

She turned around in his arms and kissed him then, And it will all come true beloved...


End file.
